When Worlds Collide-Part 2

Authors Leah Braemel, Kimber Chin, and J.K. Coi have joined together to combine the best of all their worlds. Three writing buddies, three romance genres, three to-die-for heroes. Throw in an ancient artifact and the possibility of the end of the world...and you've got one exciting short story put together for you in one FREE read that we're offering to you in three parts!

If somehow you missed Part 1 of When Worlds Collide, please drop on over to Kimber Chin's blog and then come back to read Part 2:

Gideon shook his head, his booted feet echoing in the cavern-like stairwell as he headed upward, following the stench of brimstone that filled the whole damn building. Part of him wondered what the hell a Hoth demon was doing in a place like this, but the why paled against the urgency of making sure it didn’t escape to wander into any other, more residential areas. 

Pushing through the door to the second floor corridor, Gideon heard shuffling and grunting noises coming from somewhere down the hall and pulled his sword from the sheath at his back.

The demon hurtled from one of the offices, sliding to a halt at the other end of the corridor as it spotted Gideon. At the same time, the stairwell door creaked open behind him. The humans. From the way they’d been making a beeline for the back door earlier, he hadn’t pegged them as stupid. “Didn’t I tell you to get out of here?” Gideon spared a glance over his shoulder. Sure enough, one of the men was stepping forward, pulling a gun from a holster under his jacket. “Jesus, buddy. What the hell do you think you’re going to do with that?”

The guy came forward. “I can help,” he said, taking up a protective stance at Gideon’s elbow.

Gideon groaned and rolled his eyes. God save him from ex cops. “I appreciate the sentiment, but you have no idea what you’re dealing with. This is not your fight.”

“It is now.” Yep, must have been a cop. From the way he held himself, Gideon determined the man had been well trained, but it still wouldn’t even begin to prepare him for what was to come.

The Hoth demon growled, baring razor teeth. Beside him Gideon heard the man draw in a sharp breath. “Damn. What the hell is this guy on?”

“You really don’t want to know. Just turn around and—”

“Sam!” A woman’s voice, her soft accent giving a slight lilt to her alarmed tone.

Gideon shot another look over his shoulder. The woman was stepping forward, a Glock in her hand. The other guy stood at her side, but the two of them stopped in their tracks at his warning look.

The last woman came through the doorway then. “Ramos, get back here. You’re in those idiots’ way. Hagen, you idiot. You’re no good to me dead.” Apparently, she was the only sane one of the bunch.

Expelling a long chain of curses, Gideon turned back to the demon. “Let’s get this over with.”

The creature surged forward with a roar.

“This is not going to end well.” A horrified whisper from behind.

Before Gideon could stop him, the trigger-happy hero at his side cracked off a shot, hitting the demon right between the eyes. Good aim, but useless.

The demon dropped its glamour completely, and without even the half-hearted effect of the mask, there was no longer any doubt what they were dealing with. Horns stretched higher, curling out from its temples. Sharp claws gleamed under the fluorescents. Shaking its head back and forth, the demon’s inhuman howl echoed in the hall. “Great work, buddy. That just made it angry.”

“How the hell was I supposed to know the thing isn’t even human?”

The other man piped up behind them. “The freakin’ six-inch claws and animal growl gave it away.”

Before the Hoth demon could fully regroup, Gideon rushed it. He ducked a wicked swipe, and evaded a nasty chomp of razor teeth, before finding an opening and slashing downward in a calculated swing of blade that severed the demon’s head from its body.

With the typical flash of sickly green light, the threat was suddenly gone.

Now to find out what had drawn it here in the first place. He walked into the office that the demon had emerged from. The large boardroom table was tipped over on its end, the corporate telephone had been smashed and papers were littered everywhere. Gideon leaned down and picked one off the floor.

Oh hell no.

Crumpling the sheet in his fist, he stalked back into the corridor where the foursome waited, eying him with confused caution. Heading straight for the would-be hero, he fisted a hand in the man’s shirt and threw him up against the wall.

“What do you think you’re doing with this?” he demanded in a harsh growl, shoving the hand-drawn sketch under the guy’s nose.

 

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To celebrate our collaboration together, today I'm holding a contest and I'll be giving away a free download of each of Kimber Chin's and Leah Braemel's books. To be entered, just answer this question:

What are the names of each of these authors most recent releases?

And don't miss the exciting finale of When Worlds Collide coming tomorrow, June 3 at Leah Braemel's blog!!